Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 30 to 60 years in child-sex-abuse case 

BELLEFONTE  Georgene Searfoss walked out of the YMCA, in the shadow of the Centre County Courthouse, when she spotted a reporter and asked, Did he get his sentence?

He had, she was told.I knew him, she said.

Or maybe she didnt, she said.She worked at the Ritenour Health Center on Penn States campus when Jerry Sandusky was a student at the university, a member of the football team. It was 1964 or 65, she recalled.

He seemed very quiet and shy, she said. You just never know.

You never do.When she learned that Sandusky had been sentenced Tuesday morning to 30 to 60 years - essentially a life sentence for the 68-year-old former Penn State defensive coordinator - she said, Good. He deserves it.

It was the end Tuesday, when Judge John Cleland handed down Sanduskys sentence. Maybe not legally speaking, but the rest - the appeals, the settlements with Sanduskys victims, the trial of former university administrators Gary Schultz and Tim Curley - seems like epilogue to the tragedy penned by a man who, until last November, was best known for crafting brilliant defenses on the football field.

And now, despite his protestations of innocence, he will be known as a monster, as a man who preyed on troubled young boys, boys he was purporting to help.

He could have been sentenced to hundreds of years - some estimates, based on Pennsylvanias sentencing guidelines for his crimes, set the figure at as much as 440 years. Cleland acknowledged that, noting that it would be absurd to sentence a man of Sanduskys age to hundreds of years in prison. Thirty years, the judge reasoned, was enough to keep Sandusky imprisoned until he dies.

As it is, Sandusky will not be eligible for parole until he is 98, should he beat the actuarial tables and live that long.

On the positive side, for Sandusky, the judge gave him credit for the 112 days he has spent in jail - two after his arrest and before he posted bail and 110 since his June 22 conviction.

  Courtroom No. 1 was packed when Sandusky entered, wearing a red jail outfit, emblazoned across the back with block letters: Centre County Prison. He went into a jury room to meet with his lawyers. He smiled weakly at his wife, Dottie, seated in the front row.

A few minutes later, the parties assembled, Cleland took the bench, reminding those gathered to witness the last act of this tragedy that he would not tolerate any outbursts or disruptions.

First, the judge convened a hearing on whether Sandusky, convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, qualified as a sexually violent predator as defined under whats known as Megans Law. It was routine, and at the conclusion, the judge ruled that Sandusky was, requiring the defendant to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. That is, of course, should Sandusky ever get out of prison.

Prosecutor Joe McGettigan addressed the judge first. He spoke of Sanduskys depravity and deceit and cruelty, in the case involving 10 victims.

He spoke of the courage of the victims to come forward and testify despite the shame and pain doing so would cause them. He spoke of the charity that Sandusky founded, The Second Mile, intended to help troubled youth, referring to it as a victim factory, providing Sandusky with a steady supply of vulnerable children to victimize.

He spoke of a statement that Sandusky gave a university radio station Monday, a statement in which he proclaimed his innocence, citing a conspiracy that involved the victims, their lawyers, the prosecutors, the investigators and the media. His words, McGettigan said, were deceitful and indecent and they will vanish in the wind as we hope to forget his name and his depraved acts.

Up next was Joe Amendola, Sanduskys flamboyant lawyer. He said his client had consistently maintained his innocence. That, though, didnt matter at this point, Amendola adding that he and his client respect the jurys verdict.

He asked the judge not to ignore the positive things (Sandusky) did in his life ... There is another side to this, another side to Mr. Sandusky.

There was nodisagreement over that. Even the prosecution would have to acknowledge that Sandusky did some positive things, but those acts were cover for the heinous violations he committed.

One victims mother, in a statement, wrote she felt guilty that she allowed this abuse to happen to her son, that she blames herself. She said her son had attempted suicide twice and that Sandusky destroyed my family.

There is no punishment sufficient for you, she wrote.

Another victim stood in court and told of his faith, that he walked the path of healing with Jesus holding his hand. And another victim, identified as Victim No. 5, said the sight of his naked body will never be erased from my memory. He said, Nothing will erase what he did to me. Nothing will ever make me whole.

The victims said Sandusky robbed them of their innocence and their childhoods. They all said he ruined their lives in ways that will affect them until they draw their last breaths.

  Sandusky then approached the podium. In a shaky voice, he read a statement that can only generously be described as rambling or perhaps bizarre.

He said, I didnt do these allegedly disgusting acts.

He described his life in jail. He said he wanted to serve as a little candle for others. He spoke of hitting his head against the concrete wall of his cell on the day of his 46th wedding anniversary. He spoke about missing his wife and children and grandchildren and dog. He said hes been reading books about others who had been persecuted.

He said when he worked with The Second Mile, he visited some of the programs less successful graduates in prison. Now, I live in one, he said.

Were definitely in the fourth quarter, he said. I used to always tell my players that you find out whos with you in the fourth quarter ... You have to go through the hurt and the pain to get you where you want to go.

Later, he said, I have been to the mountaintop. And I have seen the valley of the shadow of death.

He said people have made him out to be a monster, but he said he wasnt. I tried to bring joy. I tried to make people laugh. I tried to make memories.

  Handing down his sentence, the judge noted an irony.

The ultimate tragedy is that all of the qualities that made you successful help you conceal the very vices that led to your downfall, he said.

The judge also said that Sanduskys conspiracy theories were like all others of their ilk, that they flow from undeniable to unbelievable.

And then, he sent Sandusky to prison for the rest of his life. And, in a final jab, ordered Sandusky to pay the costs of prosecution and $1,706.81 in restitution to the state.

  After, the lawyers took to the podium outside the courthouse. Amendola talked about appealing, saying that he hadnt had enough time to produce a defense and that the judge erred in not granting him more time.

He said the defense needed time to comb through phone records to see whether the victims had corroborated. He also said he had lined up a jury consultant who was unable to come to Bellefonte, being tied up with a homicide trial in Puerto Rico.

Sandusky, he said, did not get the constitutionally guaranteed due process of law that other serious cases take a year or longer to go to trial. He also gave some credence to his clients conspiracy theories, mentioning the late Joe Paternos firing four days after Sandusky was indicted and the ongoing dispute between the university and the state Legislature.

What happens to Jerry Sandusky could happen to all of us, he said.

McGettigan took a couple of swipes at Amendola. When he approached the podium, he said, Ill make a brief statement and take a few questions and then hand the podium back to Mr. Amendola.

Regarding Amendolas complaint that he didnt have enough time to prepare a defense, the prosecutor said, I applaud his forays into proximity reality. Mr. Amendola spent a lot of time talking to the media. Maybe he should have spent that time preparing.

McGettigan described the victims as courageous and said they were pleased with the sentence.

But as one victim said, I wish I could have my childhood back.

Sandusky spending the rest of his life in prison cant make that happen.